Polio Vaccine Campaign Begins in Three African Nations

UNICEF announced that all children 5-years-old and younger will receive polio immunizations in Namibia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Representatives from the three countries recently launched the synchronized campaign in northern Namibia, UNICEF said.

The campaign comes a year after an outbreak of the wild polio virus that left six adult Namibians dead. At the time, Namibia was about to be certified polio-free, the agency said.

According to the agency, polio has seldom been seen by Namibians, and health workers often need to literally act out the effects of this crippling disease in order to explain what it is and how to stop it.